Michelle Shim, 4, Chief Rascal, poses with 'Big Mama'
Chris Dunn, Pumpkinmania Crew, Giant Pumpkin Grower, and first contestant to arrive!
The initial ninety minutes of this year's contest was marked by deep anxiety and dark foreboding.
Mike Gray, and his entry
Then, the entries began to arrive!
Vince George waits patiently for the Pumpkinmania crew to unload his entry
Mark Imhoof, Chief Engineer becomes one with Chris Dunn's entry, Big Mama
Ty Hall, of Kellogg Garden Products
prevents yet another Pumpkinmania near tragedy through sheer brute strength!
Glenn Tanaka, owner of Tanaka Farms graciously performed the fork-lift operating duties
Ty Hall and Casey Shim steady an entry before it's lowered into place.
In a Pumpkinmania! first, all of the top 4 finshers weighed over 900 pounds!
KABC TV Channel 7 was on hand to cover the contest
Finian McManus, Lake Forest, CA, 13th place, 5 pounds
Joshua Fredricks, Santee, CA, 12th place, 80.50 pounds
Judi Volpe, Laguna Hills, CA, 11th place, 112 pounds
Robert Bemmer, Placentia, CA, 10th place, 114.50 pounds
John Allen, Corona, CA, 9th place, 152.50 pounds
Mae Powell, Pasadena, CA, 8th place, 159 pounds
Mike & Susan Gray, Baldwin Park, CA, 7th place, 243.50 pounds
Kingston Dunn, Lomita, CA, 6th place, 260 pounds
Erik Reyes, Whittier, CA, 5th place, 264 pounds
Vince George, Santee, CA, 4th place, 912 pounds
John Sach, Whittier, CA, 3rd place, 959 pounds
Jim Fredricks, Santee, CA, 2nd place, 1,030.5 pounds
Chris Dunn, Lomita, CA, 1st place, 1,063 pounds
The 2013 Pumpkinmania
Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off & Contest Champion
is Chris Dunn, Lomita, CA, 1,063 Pounds!
Last Sunday morning, was overcast, cool, with very little breeze during the set-up of this year's contest. The first 90 minutes of the event was filled with anxiety and dread. At 9:30 a.m. only one entry had arrived, and it was from Chris Dunn, one of this year's Pumpkinmania crew members. The outlook was grim.
Fortunately, entries began arriving by truck, trailer, and truck and trailer, and it was event on!
With Glenn Tanaka, owner of Tanaka Farms, this year's venue, at the (fork-lift) wheel, all of the entries were ready and in place before journalists from The Orange County Register, The Daily Titan of California State University, Fullerton, and KABC TV Channel 7 arrived.
Here's the link to The Daily Titan's article published October 31, 2013: http://issuu.com/dailytitan/docs/2013-31-10web?e=1298132/5442529#search
After the weigh-off concluded, and the prizes awarded in all categories, Ken Tanaka, hurled an 80 pound pumpkin from an elevated platform in honor of Chris Dunn and all of the pumpkin growers. It landed with a very meaty and satisfying "WHUMP!" and the crowd went wild!
The top four finishers were:
First place, $1,000.00, Chris Dunn, Lomita, CA, 1,063 pounds
Second place, $500.00, Jim Fredricks, Santee, CA, 1,030.50 pounds
Third place, $300.00, John Sach, Whittier, CA, 959 pounds
Fourth place, Just out of the money, Vince George, Santee, CA 912 pounds
Growers were presented with their prizes by Ty Hall, Regional Sales Manager, Kellogg Garden Products
The winners of the non-heaviest prize categories were:
Best Color, "Chuck Kelley", Judi Volpe, Laguna Hills, CA
Funniest Shape, "Sarah", Jim Fredricks, Santee, CA
Ugliest Pumpkin, "Lola", John Sach, Whittier, CA
Youngest Grower, "The King", Kingston Dunn, Lomita, CA
Most Experienced Grower, Mae Powell (94 this year! You go girl!)
First Grower to Register, Chris Dunn, Lomita, CA (It pays to be early!)
These winners each received a $25.00 gift certificate from Batavia Gardens, Orange, CA, Orange County Farm Supply, Orange, CA, and new to Pumpkinmania!, or Sheridan Gardens, Burbank, CA.
All participants received an 8 ounce jar of GreenCure fungicide and a Gardner & Bloome cap.
The Pumpkinmania! Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off & Contest ownership, management, and staff would like to recognize the following sponsors and individuals for their participation, time, effort, and understanding:
Kellogg Garden Products
Gardner & Bloome
Tanaka Farms
Roadkyll Apparel Graphics
Neptune's Harvest Organic Fertilizers
GreenCure Organic Fungicide Products
HydroFarm
Batavia Gardens
Orange County Farm Supply
Sheridan Gardens
University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners
Glenn Tanaka
Ken Tanaka
Jolene Backman
Ty Hall
Phil Concan
Mark Imhoof
Chris Dunn
Casey N.E. Shim
Lauren Shim
Casey T. Shim
Michelle Shim, for being such a good girl, and listening to mom and dad.
Naturally hearty thanks to all of the growers for entering the contest and the many people who came out to cheer and encourage them!
